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Albuquerque Public Schools officials are expecting to trim about $9.3 million in spending next year, based on the budget passed by the Legislature and awaiting the signature of Gov. Susana Martinez. That’s a cut of about 1.5 percent of the district’s operating budget.
The projection, presented to the school board Tuesday, is an estimate based on APS’ usual share of state education funds.
State revenues are better than they have been for the past several years, when APS had to trim about $40 million annually from its budget. But APS Chief Financial Officer Don Moya said state revenues are still not keeping pace with utility and insurance costs, or with the cost of teachers moving up through the three-tier licensure system, entitling them to more pay.
A portion of the state education budget may be distributed differently next year. Instead of going to districts through the state funding formula, some funding may be earmarked specifically for early reading programs or schools that receive poor grades under the A-F school grading system.
West Siders unite
Representatives from four major West Side groups announced Tuesday that they endorse an APS redistricting map that would shift an entire board district from the Northeast Heights to the West Side.
“We’ve come together asking for more representation west of the Rio Grande,” said Jerry Worral, president of the West Side Coalition of Neighborhood Associations. Other groups represented at the announcement were the South Valley Coalition of Neighborhood Associations, the Southwest Alliance of Neighbors and the Northwest Alliance of Neighbors.
The school board voted in January to adopt a redistricting map that absorbed West Side growth by shifting parts of several board districts across the Rio Grande. West Siders say this splits communities of interest and interferes with their right to vote as a group. In an unusual move, the board is revisiting its decision in a meeting at 5 p.m. today, in response to backlash from West Siders and the Legislature.
Andrés Lazo, South Valley coalition president, said West Siders deserve undivided attention from their board representative.
N.M. tops a good list
New Mexico is ranked fourth in the nation for its charter school accountability laws, according to a survey by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. The state jumped up 16 places from the last survey, mainly due to a law passed last year that requires performance contracts between charter schools and their authorizers, and provides a clear way to revoke the charters of schools that don’t meet student achievement requirements.
“Options for New Mexico parents are important, but those options must also be the most effective for our students,” Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera said in a written statement.
— This article appeared on page C01 of the Albuquerque Journal
